Rewinding mechanism.



I. F. MANNY.

EEWINDING MECHANISM. APPLIOATIOK FILED FEB. 10, 1913.

1,092,154, Pa ented Apr. 7, 191i W/TNE 5555 TE STATES PATENT are.

IRA F. MANNY, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO SELECTIVE SIGNAL COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN,

A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

REWINDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 7, 191%.

Original application filed October 27, 1911, Serial No. 657,054. Divided and this application filed February Serial No. 747,279.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, IRA F. MANNY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rewinding Mechanisms, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide electrical means for rewinding the spring of a spring motor, such as the spring motors employed with selective signaling apparatus.

The object of the invention is to provide means depending upon the unwinding of the spring for establishing an electrical circuit through a magnetic means for giving a rewinding movement to the spring and thus continue the operation of the mechanism without interruption.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the means for imparting the rewinding movement to the spring that the part of the spring means engaged by the magnetic means will have sufficient inertia to acquire a momentum that will carry it beyond the movement of the magnetic means during the rewinding operation.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the rewinding mechanism as herein claimed, its parts and combinations of parts and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in the different views and which drawings are copies from the drawings of my co-pending application for means for selective signaling, Serial No. 657 ,054, filed October 27, 1911, of which this application constitutes a division: Figure l is a front view of a rewinding mechanism constructed in accordance with this invention, parts being broken away for clearness of illustration; Fig. 2 is a side view thereof; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the gearing removed in the illustration of Fig. 1; Fig. 4

is a sectional view through the balance wheel and its ratchet connection; and, Fig. 5 is a diagram of the circuit connections of the rewinding mechanism.

In these drawings the instrument is shown built upon a frame comprising a front plate 20 and a back plate 21 connected by spacing posts 22, as common with ordinary clockwork mechanism. A motor shaft 23 is journaled through the front and back plates of the frame and extends beyond the front plate to a desired extent to be available for the work intended as the turning of escapement means for a selective signaling system. This motor shaft is given a tendency to turn by means of a coil spring 24 which is con tained within a balance wheel 25. The bal-- ance wheel is loosely mounted on the shaft, but carries a ratchet wheel 26 engaged by spring pressed dogs 27 on a gear wheel 28 which is fixed on the motor shaft. The pressure of the spring 24, which has its outer end anchored on the frame and its inner end connected with the balance wheel, is imparted to the motor shaft through such ratchet connection which is best seen in Fig. 3. As also seen in Fig. 3, the motion of the motor shaft, besides being controlled by mechanism to be later described, is re tarded by a star wheel escapement which comprises a pinion 29 meshing with the gear wheel 28 and carrying a gear wheel. 30 which meshes with a pinion 31 carrying a star wheel 32 engaged by an escapement pawl 33 in the well known manner.

The balance wheel 25 carries a roller 71 which is insulated therefrom, but which has a flexible wire connection 72 with a binding post 73 on the back plate 21 of the frame and said roller 71 constitutes a switch con tact which closes an electrical circuit by coming into engagement with a contact 74: carried by a swinging magnet member 75 which is pivotally suspended upon, though insulated from, a pin 76 extending across the frame, at its upper end. Said swinging magnet member 7 5 has a companion stationary magnet member 77 mounted on the magnet thereupon becomes energized, swingback plate 21, the magnet members being complementary to each other, each closing its magnetic circuit through the core of the other, and being provided with inner core pieces 78 and outer core pieces 7 9 for this purpose. Each magnet member has one end of its winding connected with its core piece 79, the other ends being connected together by wire 116, while a wire 80 connects the terminal of magnet 77 with a binding post 81 on the back plate of the frame. A set screw 82 limits the outward movement of magnet member 7 5 by engaging the contact. 7 1 thereof, while a set screw 83 limits the inward movement thereof in like manner, there being an insulation on the contact 74 at these points of engagement with the set screws- The circuit closed by the engagement of the contact roller 71 and the contact'fll includes the rewinding magnet consisting of magnet members 75 and 77, so that said ing the contact 7 4: and by its engagement with the roller 71 turning the balance wheel 25. The momentum of the balance wheel causes it to continue its turning movement beyond the point at Which the contact 7 1 is stopped by set screw 83, thus breaking the circuit and permitting the weight of the swinging magnet member to return it to its normal position. The turning movement of the balance wheel 25 is permitted by the escapement of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 26 beneath the dogs 27 and serves to tighten or rewind the motor spring 2 1 to a certain extent and this rewinding operation will take place whenever the motor is so far run down as to swing the roller 71 into engagement with the contact 74:.

A'contact spring 84: is preferably mounted on the core piece 79 of magnetmember 77 and is adapted to be engaged by the con tact 7 4 when it completes its inward movement, thus short circuiting the rewinding magnet so that the circuit broken by the roller 71 leaving contact 74: will not include the magnet winding and arcing at the contacts will be avoided.

The wiring of the rewmding mechanism, as shown in Fig. 5, is such that the magnets 75 and 77 are energized by the engagement of roller 71 with the contact 7e, and are deenergized by said contact 74 engaging the magnets. As here shown, a battery 115 or other source of current supply is connected between the binding posts 73 and 81, so that when the roller 71 contacts with the contact 7 1 the circuit may be traced from said battery to binding post 73 and wire 72 to the roller 71 and the engaged contact 7 1, then through the winding of magnet 7 4: and the wire 116 which connects the two magnet windings and through the winding of mag net 7 5 and the wire 116 which connects the two windings and through the winding of magnet 77 and by way of wire 80 to binding post 81 to the battery. WVhen the mag nets 7 5 and 77 are energized, the movement produced thereby first causes them to be short circuited and then as the roller 71 leaves the contact 7 1, the circuit is broken, but the short circuiting of the magnets before breaking the circuit avoids the forming of an are at the contact roller.

This motor spring rewinding mechanism automatically rewinds the motor spring as soon as it has run down to a certain extent, thus requiring of the motor spring a minimum amount of work to be performed at each winding and permitting the use of a light and inexpensive spring that may be incased within the balance wheel for convenience and for economy of space, i

I desire it to be understood that this in v vention is not limited to any specific form or arrangement of parts exceptin'so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. A spring motor, comprising a motor shaft, a balance wheel loosely mounted on the motor haft and having a ratchet connection therewith, a spring having one end fixed stationary and the other end connected with the balance wheel, a contact on the balance wheel, a swlnging member adapted to engage the contactand throw the balance wheel to wind the spring and make a new ratchet engagement magnet for operating the swinging member, and an electrical circuit including the magnet of said swinging member adapted to be closed by the engagement of the contact with said swinging member.

2. A spring motor, comprising a motor shaft, a balance wheelloosely mounted on the motor shaft and having a ratchet connection therewith, a spring havlng one end for the motor shaft, a A

fixed stationary and the other end connected v with the balance wheel, a contact on the balance wheel, a swinging member for engaging the contact to throw the balance wheel, a magnet mounted thereon, a stationary armature for the magnet, an electrical circuit including the winding of the magnet closed by the engagement of the contact with the swinging member.

8. A spring motor, comprising a motor shaft, a balance wheel loosely mounted on the motor shaft and having a ratchet connection therewith, a spring having one end fixed stationary and the other end connected with the balance wheel, a contact on the gage the contact, an electromagnet comprising a pair of complementary coils, one, coil mounted on the swinging member and the set screws for balance wheel, a swinging HIGIHlOGZC'tO enlimiting the movement of the swinging short circuiting the magnet coils at the end member, said magnet, when energized, causof the movement of the swinging member. ing the swinging member to throw the bal- In testimony whereof, I afiix my signaance wheel by means of the contact for reture, in presence of two witnesses. I winding the spring, an electrical circuit in- IRA F. MANNY. eluding both windings of the magnet and closed by the engagement of the contact with the swinging member, and means for Witnesses:

R. S. C. CALDWELL, KATHERINE HOLT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

